Q&A: Developer's Corner

[Ramano]

Can I be a pirate? For example, I am everything everyone else has, but im relegated to only neutral tech? That way it wouldnt unbalance your nice 3v3 teams, and it will give you someone to pick on when you get tired of fighting each other.

[SWSF Hale]

From Vol.III of the rules:

3rd Party Factions ~ Due to the nature of the game, AOTA will not host any 3rd party factions. They may be 'playable' but only from an SL perspective. In the following episode: Twilight of the Empire, 3rd party factions will be available and playable. Players desiring to play fringe/3rd party characters may do so but only via storyline.

Greg and I wanted to focus on Reb vs Imp gameplay in this setting for "round one", mainly because we wanted to concentrate the factions and make everything feel less like a "free for all".  Honestly, there isn't any 3rd party infrastructure available to build up your own pocket faction YET, so it would be very hard to play with others.

I would suggest playing as a Rebel if you're still interested in playing. You don't have to play with your other Rebel team members if you don't want to, and you can use neutral tech all day long.  This way you can do what you want, but actually make a paycheck... and next Episode, go 3rd party (like one or two others are thinking about doing).

[SWSF Eidolon]

Maybe you could be a really crooked rebel element, and then essentially exactly what asked in practice.  Just from an SL perspective being tied in to the Alliance but use your assets in illicit ways such as taking a smuggler and bounty hunter for heroes and what not, performing sabotage assassination recon whatever.  Maybe like a character in your writings is a rebel officer that's dirty but still juiced in, if you're doing kind of a non chivalrous things you don't have access to core alliance units like X, B or A Wings or NEBs, RAFs or 80s or Alliance specific troops later on.

Just a thought to accomodate

[SWSF Hoppus]

Yeah this would be my recommendation for this episode; play a fringe rebel ally, but don't play it all naive freedom-loving, and mix up the neutral tech heavily instead of building Xs and what not. You are still a part of the team, but you can be a reluctant member - "enemy of my enemy" sort of deal?

[Ramano]

bah, im still mad about TLC... I had big ambitions for that. But honestly I was only suggesting me as a 3rd party to maintain balance. Looking at the activity out of the rebs side, it doesnt seem like that will be an issue, lol. However, might I suggest you imperial players step up your game... I'mmmmm baaaaAAAAAAaaaaccckkk. MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

And uhh... yeah just incase you missed it, im going Reb.

[Ramano]

Ok quick question as I was reading through the rules. I will put in bold what I am speaking of.

TIE Swarms
Capable of being formed when (3) TIE Fighter and/or TIE Interceptor Squadrons are present in the same grid. A swarm makes the (3) units into (1) in order to increase its damage tolerance and intimidation (simply combine armor point values and damage, as if it were one large squad). TIE Swarms follow all normal rules for Starfighter combat and are treated as one unit. Regardless of the type of TIE, the Swarm's UCR is 8.

If on CSP, the Swarm as a whole must be engaged 6:1 by other enemy squadrons in order to be considered "engaged" (i.e. 6 X-Wing squads must engage 1 TIE Swarm). As they are considered a single unit, when engaging an enemies CSP they only "successfully engage" a single SF squadron (i.e. 1 Swarm cannot engage 3 enemy squadrons, it can only be 1:1). The Swarm may split at any time, and return to 3 separate squadrons (simply spread any damage received while a Swarm as you wish).


So my question is does a tie swarm get some kind of bonus to being on CSP. As it states in CSP, fighters must be engaged 1:1, and a tie swarm is only 3 squads. So why would they need to be engaged at 6:1?

[SWSF Hoppus]

Q: does a tie swarm get some kind of bonus to being on CSP. As it states in CSP, fighters must be engaged 1:1, and a tie swarm is only 3 squads. So why would they need to be engaged at 6:1?

A: The bonus comes when on the defensive only -- the swarm assists in protecting the ship more efficiently then lone squadrons. On the attack, they coordinate to overwhelm targets, hence 1:1 ratio.

[Ramano]

I still dont understand why it wouldnt be 3:1 and not 6:1 but eh whatever.

So on that note, stunning/disabling/capturing fighters? Is allowed? How works?

Also, adding this to save time and space: Legal starting units yea or nae? (keep in mind, this is not my fleet I will be using, just making sure I have an understanding of my starting stuff)

239KC remaining
Battle Units:
4 X-Wing(starter squad + 3 squad reb bonus) 5 GR-75(reb bonus) 6 NSBC(12cp, 1074kc) 3 Y-Wing(3cp, 237cp) 5 YT-1300 (5cp, 450kc, does not count toward 6 ship limit)
SL Units:
Facility Transport

And do starter facilities, IE: The ones im gunna buy with my remaining KCs from my 2000, do those come pre-built or do I gotta spend the time building them?

[SWSF Eidolon]

too many fighters, you can only have three squadrons total under your immediate command if you don't have any other carrier ships, and after that whatever you have has to be on your Reserve Defense Fleet which is a base max of 3 CP.

Also don't advertise it to the Imps, they dno't get to know exactly =)

Also you've got too many of those extras, it's 5 extra of either or the yt13 or gr75 not of both, so for free you get 3 squads and 5 of any combo yt and gr75, then you've got your 6 ship limit to your fleet, which is your 6 NSBCs right there.  PM Hoppy, he's got a good handle of it all, but you prolly want to save more money so you can build some facilities right away and have a smaller start group, maybe diff capital ships too because NSBCs might be the biggest but def not the best at all thats avail to rebs.  CRVs have better UCR because they fast and agile.

and you gotta spend the time to build them, facils I mean.  keep private logs and we turn in to a GM on action days, but I choose to mark them vaguely publicly tho I don't know if we have to, i just prefer to.

[Ramano]

Oh, as I stated, thats not my fleet, thats my total starting stuff, IE: Reserve defense stuff too. And I only have 5 from the bonus, the other 5 I paid for from my KCs and my CPs as is stated after the unit. =)

[SWSF Hale]

Q10: How does the process of sending Infiltrators & Operations on missions work?
A10: Because the nature of these units are highly secretive, keeping their "IC" actions to a minimum are highly advisable. The following procedure should be used when doing so:
1. Storyline sending the unit out on a MISSION (which can be done ONCE every Action Day). The type of mission can be *******. Travel times are hyperspace x1.
2. Send a PM Request to the GM, detailing the specifics: type of mission and destination.
3. At that point, the GM will respond back with the results of the mission from his records.  For example, if a Rebel player sends an Infiltrator to Planet X, then the GM (only having planet information for all player worlds: A, B, C, & D) will not have information for Planet X... thus, the mission will yield NO RESULTS.  If the Infiltrator DOES land on a Player World, then the GM will give the Infiltrator's commander the specific info the Infiltrator was looking for (depending on the type of mission).
4. If any major actions happend (like an Assassination/Sabotage), the GM will privately clear the player to SL having their Infiltrator/Operative execute this mission (so it will be publicly known from that point forward).
5. The Infiltrator/Operative will then return to the world he came from (x1 hyperspace) after a 72-hour period (performing the mission).

[Ramano]

Actually, after looking at it, I think I will keep my original loadout:

239KC remaining
Battle Units:
4 X-Wing(starter squad + 3 squad reb bonus) 5 GR-75(reb bonus) 6 NSBC(12cp, 1074kc) 3 Y-Wing(3cp, 237cp) 5 YT-1300 (5cp, 450kc, does not count toward 6 ship limit)
SL Units:
Facility Transport

Hale can you please approve me for starting, thanks.

[SWSF Hale]

Here's what you can get away with:

3 X-Wing Squads [3 CP]
5 YT-1300s [5 CP]
6 NSBCs [12 CP]

Total = 20 CP. Check.

Explanation:

1. You are only allowed 3 SF Squads TOTAL outside of those carried onboard starships.
2. You are only allowed 5 Bonus Units TOTAL, which are EITHER YT-1300s or GR-75s, not both.
3. Under any or all combinations, you cannot exceed 20 Command Points.  YT-1300s/GR-75s don't count towards the 6-ship limit, but they do count towards the overall CP limit, which in your case, your original fleet exceeds.

I would suggest adding 1 or 2 CORVs/AVIGs into the mix to beef up your firepower, although 6 NSBCs can certainly take a lot of punishment, so if that's what you're going for then cool.

[Ramano]

Lmao, I think this is the issue we have with simming now, people dont know how to READ anymore. Please, for the love of god, quit skimming my stuff without paying attention to it. Let me break this down a little more I guess seeing as your not addressing any of my bonus's or taking into account not ALL of this stuff is gunna be in my fleet, some of it will be my base PDF. Either that or im at a complete loss as to how the CP rules work in accordance with the bonus's and starting stuff.

1 X-Wing (Starter squad, the one I left hoth with and start the game with)
3 X-Wing (My rebel 3 squad fighter bonus)
5 GR-75 (My 5 aux rebel starting bonus)
6 NSBC (Paid for as starting stuff with 12CP and 1074KC of my 20CP, 2000KC start)
3 Y-Wing (Paid for as starting stuff with 3cp and 237KC of my 20CP, 2000KC start)
5 YT-1300 (Paid for as starting stuff with 5cp and 450KC of my 20CP, 2000KC start)

This equals 20CP and 1,761KC. The bonus's as is stated by your rules are in ADDITION to the starting limits imposed. Or so it says. So im not trying to argue if its legal or not, im trying to figure out if its not legal WHY? THIS IS NOT MY FLEET!!!!!!

Seeing as everyone is going to beat it into the ground and simply ignore everything else I say, and the conversation I had with Eid about this exact same thing, due to either illiteracy or blindness, I will list what I plan on using as my Fleet from that:

6 NSBC = 12CP
2 X-Wing = 2CP
1 Y-Wing = 1CP
5 YT-1300 = 5 CP = 20CP total. As I know it, a legal fleet.

Everything else I have on the 1st list not on the 2nd list will be my defense squad around my base. I cant spell it out any simpler then that. If it still doesnt make sense, you either need to go back and re-read the rules you wrote, or go back to school and take a reading comprehension class, seriously.

And please excuse my frustration but if you thought I was planning on using ALL that as my fleet, you didnt pay any attention to what I wrote and just skimmed a bunch of numbers. And on top of it, this is the 2nd person that did that. I mean, I hope you guys are gunna put more time into reading the actual battle posts or this is gunna be a REAL short trip. I appologize for my offensivness but dam!

[SWSF Hoppus]

Those "bonuses" are not "bonuses" -- if you READ closely instead of SKIMMING the rules, you would know that!

The "BONUS" squad is part of the Sector Operations Base you set up, it is not an extra squad floating around.

The "BONUS" for the YT/GR75 is that you can have them beyond the 6 ship limit, not that you get them for free.

"1 X-Wing (Starter squad, the one I left hoth with and start the game with)
3 X-Wing (My rebel 3 squad fighter bonus)
5 GR-75 (My 5 aux rebel starting bonus)"

None of that exists. You have misread (not read?) the rules/specs.

As for the XWing squad see this thread: http://www.swsimforum.com/index.php?topic=553.msg6252#msg6252

3. Rebel players pick their worlds next (privately) and their Facility Transport will be converted into a Rebel Operations Base, instantly; the bonus X-Wing squad received is stationed immediately at that Rebel Ops Base.  (Honestly, the Facility Transport and X-Wing Squad aren't really significant and don't count as 'property' - they merely exist as part of the prologue to the game).

I am assuming the other "bonus" GR75s and YT1300s you are getting from reading this rule wrong found here: http://www.swsimforum.com/index.php?topic=560.msg6204#msg6204

The Rebel Alliance gets a special command bonus in that a combination of  up to (5) Medium Transports and/or YT-1300 Rebel Freighters, in addition to (3) Starfighter Squadrons may be added to a player's fleet beyond the set limits.

it is a COMMAND bonus, the bonus being you can COMMAND those extra ships OUTSIDE of the other 6-ship per fleet limit (so you could have 6 Corvettes, say, plus 5 GR75s/YT1300s). They are not free, they are not part of any starting bonus. You would have to buy them, build them, or choose them as a starting force.

As for the reserve fleet:

Reserve Defense Fleet
Your RDF functions as an auxiliary fleet to help defend your baseworld while your main Battlefleet is away on missions.  As such, the RDF has a strict 3-ship/3 CP Capacity, but ships in the RDF can be interchanged at will with your main fleet.  A few things can help increase your RDF CP capacity, they are: Leader unit at your base (+1 CP), Shipyard (+1 CP), and a Golan Platform (+1 CP).  CP bonuses are NOT cumulative (i.e. two shipyards won't give you +2 CPs).

You do not get the COMMAND BONUS for your RDF -- nowhere does it say you can. It says, in the section discussing your MAIN BATTLEFLEET, that you have the bonus option of commanding such vessels outside of the 6-ship limit. The RDF has a "strict 3-ship/3 CP" limit.

Please plan accordingly.

I hope this answers your questions.